Economic Stimulus at the Barrel of a Gun

When the Bush administration justified their $700 billion bailout of banks and financial institutions, their mantra was that the economic sky would fall without it. As such, a massive bailout bill was steamrolled through Congress with barely any debate, oversight, and without anyone understanding how it was going to work. As news has trickled out that banks are hoarding the money, spending it overseas, or dubious financial institutions like GMAC are receiving the money, the mantra from the administration remains the same. Whatever protest anyone makes about the bailout bill, the answer is always the same. Without it, the economic sky would have fallen. In fact, that's exactly what HUD Secretary Steve Preston told me when I confronted him on this matter.

I have found this dubious and disingenuous. First, since the public isn't privy to the information the administration claims to know, we can't say much. Second, we are always arguing against a hypothetical. We'll of course never know if the economic sky would have fallen without the bailout. Most importantly, if things were so dire, why were we only made aware when time was running out to act?

As such, the public was forced not only to swallow a massive bailout but they were forced to do it without really understanding anything about it. Then, when the terms of the bailout began changing after it was passed, the public continued to swallow it because we continued to be told that the alternative would have been a disaster. As such, the federal government essentially skirts most responsibility for creating a massive bailout, with no oversight, and one that they changed the rules on after the fact.

Now, President Designate Obama wants the public to swallow a similar pill.

President-elect Barack Obama called for "dramatic action" to pull the economy out of recession Thursday, as he made his highest-profile case yet for a nearly $800 billion stimulus plan.


Obama warned of dire consequences if Congress does not act soon, saying the crisis could "linger for years." He predicted that the steady decline would erode and eliminate everything from jobs to college educations to the country's standing in the world.


"In short, a bad situation could become dramatically worse," he said. Obama warned the unemployment rate could reach double digits and the nation "could lose a generation of potential and promise."


Obama delivered his speech a day after budget forecasters said the federal budget deficit would reach $1.2 trillion in fiscal 2009. That estimate does not factor in the stimulus package Obama and Democrats are promoting on Capitol Hill. But Obama says deficit spending is needed to jolt the economy out of recession.

Obama is no less dubious or disingenuous in his statements. Everything that held true for the current administration, holds true now. If things are so dire, why didn't Obama propose this back in September and demand that it be included with the original bailout. If we are to believe the President Designate, things are really dire just not so dire that they needed to be done in September. Apparently, things are just dire enough that the stimulus needs to be passed as soon as he gets into office.

Once again, Obama would like the public to swallow a massive bill of $800 billion without having any understanding of what it entails. We won't know how oversight will be conducted. Sure, Obama has assured us that there will be strict oversight and transparency, but so did Bush. Once again, the public is asked to swallow a massive bill that will be fast tracked through Congress with scant debate. We continue to be held at the barrel of a gun based on numbers no one will share with us. All we are told is vague and grim predictions.

The reason that the legislative process is as long as it is, is because it allows the public to understand the details of each piece of legislation. Now the government would like to by pass all of that and just ask us to accept massive spending on our behalf. Furthermore, we are told that if we do not accept it all immediately, then the economic sky will fall. We are being given economic stimulus at the barrel of a gun, and frankly, that is a recipe for disaster.